Brace assembly



c w. PETERSEN 2,980,214

BRACE ASSEMBLY April 18, 1961 Filed Jan. 13, 1958 mf W ml l 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l l I l INVENTOR CLIFFORD W. PETERSEN ATTORNEY April 18, 1961 c. w. PETERSEN 2,980,214

BRACE ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. CLIFFORD vv. PETERSEN ATTORNEY United States atent A 2,980,214 BRACE ASSEMBLY Clifford W. Petersen, Wauwatosa, Wis., assiguor to McGraw-Edison Company, Milwaukee, W|s., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 708,620

' 3 Claims. (Cl. 189-33) This invention relates to an assembly including bracing means and, more particularly, to an assembly of support means, bracing means and the hardware for attaching the components to a vertically disposed pole and the like.

In the electrical industry, it has been common heretofore to use cros'sbraces and crossarms which are made of clear sections of wood such as Douglas fir, which has the requisite electrical and structural characteristics for supporting various electrical equipment in an elevated position on a vertically extending pole. It has become increasingly difficult in recent years to obtain clear sections of Douglas fir which maintaina standardization. of characteristics desired for large scale use by utilities and the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide an assembly of laminated pieces of material having the requisite dielectric and mechanical strength when in a laminated bonded form for replacement of the heretofore used crossarms and crossar-m bracing structures.

It is another object of this invention to provide a more compact brace in that vthe requisite electric and mechanical strength can be obtained with smaller dimension components.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an assembly comprising a vertically extending member, a horizontally extending member and a crossbrace member, any or all parts of which may be made of a plurality of performed laminated strips of material and which may be mounted to the vertical member by suitable hardware.

Another object of this invention is to provide structure as aforementioned which prevents the windmilling of crossarms, is easy to maintain at standard electrical and mechanical characteristics, is lighter and stronger than material used heretofore, is well adapted to mass manufacturing techniques, is easy to Warehouse, ship, inventory and store, is corrosion resistant, weather resistant and is otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which it was designed.

The novel features that are characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself both as to its organization and the advantages thereof will best be understood by the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevational View of an assembly including a novel laminated crossbrace for supporting a crossarm on a pole;

Fig. 2 is a view of an alternative embodiment similar to Fig. 1, all of the non-metallic support components being of laminated structure;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective sectional view along lines 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective sectional view through the apex of the V-shaped crossbrace shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation-a1 view of an alternative form of crossbrace and support member made of 2,980,214 Patented Apr. 18, 1961 'ice laminated materials in accordance with the inventive concept;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the novel pieces of hardware associated with the assembly;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another novel piece of hardware associated with the assembly; and

Fig. [8 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 6 of an alternative form of hardware.

Turning now to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a vertical extending member such as a pole 10 having a generally transverse member or crossarm 11 which is mounted to the pole 10 intermediate its ends by a through bolt 12.

A generally V-shaped laminated angle brace 13 is preformed with a rounded apex 14 and extending arms 15 and 16, the free ends of the arms 15 and 16 bent outwardly at 17 and 18 for engagement with the under side of the crossarm 1-1. The laminate structure per se shall be described hereinafter. The free ends 17 and 18 of the laminate 13 may be fixedly mounted to crossarm 11 by a through bolt 22, there being a metal or hardware member 21 surrounding the end sections 17 and 18 to prevent tearing of the latter and which will be more fully described hereinafter.

The apex of the V-shaped mounting member is fixedly mounted to the pole 10 by a through bolt 20 which extends through a suitable crossbore 25 to fixedly mount the laminate crossbrace 13 relative to the pole. The crossbrace 13 prevents windmilling of the crossarm 11, steadies same and increases the amount of load that may be placed thereon. A slotted or apertured channel shaped member 19 which will be described more fully hereinafter is adapted to surround the apex 14 in the neighborhood of the bore 25 to both support the apex and to prevent tearing of the laminate or larninas in the neighborhood of the bore 25.

The embodiment shown in 'Fig. 2 is similar to that shown in Fig. 1, except that crossbar 11 is replaced by a laminate structure 27, the latter being substantially thinner than the crossbar 11 while having substantially the same strength and mechanical characteristics. When the "structure shown in Fig. 2 is used, the hardware items, namely, the through bolts 22 and the square shaped hardware members 21 may be eliminated. A bore 26 may be formed in the end portion of 27 for mounting insulators or the like directly thereto.

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5 is an integral angle brace and support means sometimes referred to as an alley arm bracket. This bracket comprises a vertically extending laminate portion 28 aligned with and in engagement with the pole 10 and mounted thereto by through bolts 30 and 29. The vertical portion 28 is integral with and joins the horizontally extending supporting portion 31, there being an integral crossbrace 32 which is bonded to and integral with portions 31 and 28 as shown at 33 and 34.

The hardware components, as shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are preferably made of galvanized steel or the like. Member 19 may be formed of channel shaped stock, there being a base portion 35 and upward extending free arms 36 and 37. The base 35 and arms 36 and 37 are slotted to form an aperture 38 which extends a substantial distance into the arms 36 and 37 to fit over the through bolt 20 when member 19 is assembled as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The base portion 35 of the channel shaped member 19 engages the bottommost portion of the apex 14 of the laminate 13 to support same when in the assembled relation shown. Thus, when a load is impressed upon crossarms 11 and 27, the bottom of the apex 14 engages the base 35 so that the thrust against bolt 20 is taken up by the metal edge surrounding aperture 38 to thereby prevent tearing of the laminate 13. -It is apparent that other hardware constructions may be used which do not need a crossbore, yet will suppoitingly fix the apex relative to the pole 10.

The alternative embodiment of support member 19' shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings is adapted to be used where the V-shaped angle brace laminate 13 is a sharper V than that shown in the drawings. Thus, the base section 35 is divided into two wings, the Wing 39 being offset relative to the other wing to provide a more intimate supporting engagement with an apex 14 of a sharper V-shaped brace.

The large perspective view, Fig. 7, shows the method of construction of this hardware item 21, namely, a straplike member formed and welded as shown and having a crossbore 11) which extends through the upper and lower surfaces thereof. When the through bolt 22 is inserted in aperture 40, the entire member is placed in compression. It is apparent that this member may be made out of extruded stock rather than the welded construction shown.

Returning now to the laminate 13 and the individual laminas 23 and 24 per se, the laminas 23 and 24 each may be composed of, for example, a fiber glass strip, a plurality of which are placed in stacked relation and are bonded together by a suitable resin. The laminas also may be composed of clear strips of Douglas fir which are stacked, flexed to desired shape and bonded under heat and pressure. Because of the stacked bonded plurality of strips making a unitary structure, individual defects found in a single strip will not seriously deleteriously affeet the over-all structure and, thus, a lower grade of wood may be used.

The preformed arch-like relationship of the individual laminas to make the brace 13 illustrated makes a laminate angle brace having considerable more strength than the wood crossarm braces of similar size while maintaining the desired electrical properties of a larger brace. Also, the construction shown lends itself to easy modification in manufacturing process to any span and drop desired. It is also apparent that the bracing structures shown may be used with or without the hardware components and in either event all components may be easily stacked and warehoused.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is with full awareness that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. Electrical conductor support means comprising, in combination, a vertically extending electrical power pole of insulating material, a wire support member of insulating material fixedly engaging and disposed transversely relative to said pole, a generally V-shaped brace affixed at its ends to said wire support member, said V-shaped brace comprising a stack of laminae of insulating material having a relatively high dielectric strength bonded into a laminate, the said V-shape defining a laminated apex, fastening means piercing thelaminations of said apex securing said apex to said pole at a point spaced vertically from the point at which said wire support member engages said pole, and means in the form of a support simultaneously engaging said fastening means and the lowermost of the laminae at said apex for transferring forces directed along the legs of said V-shaped brace to said fastening means, whereby delamination of said brace by said forces is prevented.

2. In combination, a vertically extending electrical power pole, a crossarm disposed transversely to said vertically extending pole and fixedly engaging the latter at a predetermined point, a stack of laminae of insulating material having relatively high dielectric strength and being preformed into a generally V-shaped configuration and bonded into a V-shaped laminate having a pair of extending arm portions and an apex, the apex portion of said laminate being mounted to said vertically extending pole by a through bolt at a point vertically offset from said predetermined point and each of the free arm portions of said laminate fixedly engaging said crossarm at a point horizontally offset from said predetermined point, and a slotted channel shaped member having registering vertically extending slots in the legs thereof receiving said through bolt and being disposed in supporting relationship to the apex of the V-shaped laminate.

3. In combination, a vertically extending electrical power pole, a horizontal crossarm of insulating material affixed intermediate its ends to said pole, a generally V- shaped crossarm brace afiixed at its ends to said cr0ssarm and at the apex thereof by a bolt-to said pole at a point spaced vertically from the point where said crossarm is affixed to said pole, said brace comprising a stack of laminae of insulating material of relatively high dielectric strength bonded into a laminate and preformed into said V-shape, said brace having a relatively gradual curve at the apex thereof and having horizontally extending portions at the ends thereof connected by curvilinear portions to the inclined arms of said V-shaped brace, and a channel support member having vertically extending slots in the legs thereof receiving said bolt and being disposed in supporting relation to the gradually curved portion at the apex of said brace.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,176,111 Valenne Mar. 21, 1916 1,235,988 Macmechen et al Aug. 7, 1917 1,381,838 Jackson June 14, 1921 2,172,093 Thompson et al Sept. 5, 1939 

